Are critics being too harsh on Dan Brown just because he’s popular?

I’ve been reading Dan Brown’s newest book The Lost Symbol (aff link) since it was released on Tuesday. When I bought the book at my local bookstore, I knew it wasn’t going to be a great literary achievement and I had no expectations of being enlightened. I bought the book to be entertained.

There has been a lot of criticism of Dan Brown and his books since the release of his new novel. Most of the criticism of Brown has been flying around the blogosphere, Twitter and other social networking outlets. This is to be expected, as most books that garner so much publicity and popularity are easy targets for the armchair literary critics (I confess to be one of them at times).

I’ll be honest in saying that I felt slightly embarrassed buying The Lost Symbol because a part of me thought that it was a reflection of my literary tastes. But I quickly got over it after I started reading the novel and appreciated it for its entertainment value. The Lost Symbol is escapist reading and is a book you can enjoy reading without worry about looking for a deeper meaning or some grand philosophical theme.

I think that literary agent Nathan Bransford had a great opinion about the criticism The Lost Symbol has received in one of his weekly publishing wrap-ups:

And now that THE LOST SYMBOL is out, I’d like to make a personal plea that literary bookish types abstain from the whole “I’m so above his writing but okay the books are kind of fun to read” attitude. People! They’re entertainment. It’s okay to like them without apologizing. Or don’t like them. Whatever. Just don’t be too cool for school. It’s not like I watch The Bachelor in the hopes of finding deep meaning and spiritual enlightenment!! That’s just a bonus.

I’m not apologizing for liking this novel. And I don’t think someone should apologize for not liking it. It’s when people start saying “I’m too good for this” or “This book is beneath me” that I really start getting annoyed.

Let us not forget that even works that we regard as classics of literature today, were usually mainstream, popular work during the author’s time. For example, Shakespeare’s plays were about popular subjects and ideas of his time, causing critics to rate him well below other writers.

Does this mean The Lost Symbol will become a great literary masterpiece? I don’t know. Future generations of critics and readers will decide the answer to that question. In the meantime, it’s okay to read for the sheer entertainment of reading.

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